It's impossible to know which Chelsea will show up these days.
Is it going to be the Chelsea who lost 4-1 to Liverpool and 4-2 to Wolverhampton Wanderers in back-to-back Premier League games? Or the Chelsea who beat a formidable Aston Villa 3-1 away from home in the FA Cup before doing the same to Crystal Palace in the next game?
Mauricio Pochettino clearly has some talent in his side, but if he can't get them to show it consistently, he might not be in the dugout for much longer.
This inconsistency is made all the more frustrating by the fact that one of their former players, who many considered a flop, has been a consistent goalscorer since leaving West London and has actually even outscored Cole Palmer this season.
Chelsea's club record signing in 2017
The player in question is none other than Spain international and former club-record signing Alvaro Morata.
The Spaniard signed for Blues in July of that year for around £60m after enjoying a fruitful 2016/17 season at Real Madrid, in which he scored 20 goals and provided six assists in 43 appearances for Los Blancos.
Appearances
48
24
Goals
15
9
Assists
6
0
Goal Involvements per Match
0.43
0.37
Unfortunately for the Chelsea faithful, he would never prove to be this effective in London, and while he did manage to score 15 goals and provide six assists in the 2017/18 season, this was as good as it was going to get.
The following season, he scored just nine goals in his 24 appearances for the Pensioners before he moved to Atlético Madrid on loan in January, where he managed six goals and one assist in 17 appearances.
While his overall record of 24 goals and six assists for the Blues wasn't horrendous, he was seen by many fans and pundits alike as an abject failure, with Rio Ferdinand saying on BT Sport after the 2018 Community Shield that (via Football 365) "from a centre half's point of view, he does not scare you" while Richard Dunne was even harsher, claiming the Spaniard was "a disgrace up front, he was awful."
So, with underwhelming performances and scathing reviews, the Madrid-born forward made his move to Atleti permanent in the summer of 2019 for £58m, although the West Londoners could undoubtedly do with his goals this season.
Morata's stats after leaving Chelsea
Now, life after Chelsea wasn't necessarily all plain sailing for Morata, as his first full season back in Spain was only marginally better than his first year in England, with 16 goals and five assists coming in his 44 games for Los Colchoneros.
It was this middling return that saw him sent back to Juventus on loan for two seasons so that Atleti could sign Luis Suárez, and while some players might've downed tools at the idea of being moved on once again, the former Real Madrid youngster put his head down and enjoyed a brilliant two years in Turin.
In his first season, he scored 20 goals and provided 12 assists in 44 appearances before scoring 12 goals and registering nine assists in 48 games the following season, meaning he averaged a goal involvement every 1.73 games for the Old Lady.
Following the end of his two-year loan deal, the "prolific" number nine, as described by talent scout Jacek Kulig, returned to Atlético and provided 18 goal involvements in 45 appearances for Diego Simeone's side last season.
44
16
5
0.47
44
20
12
0.72
48
12
9
0.43
45
15
3
0.40
33
19
3
0.66
Alvaro Morata's stats this season
While Morata's output across the four seasons following his move to Atlético is impressive, his performances this season have bordered on world-class.
The 31-year-old has seemingly reached a whole new level this campaign and has already found the back of the net 19 times and provided three assists in just 33 appearances.
Unfortunately for fans and Morata himself, he is currently set to miss up to ten games with a knee ligament injury, but should he be back by the end of next month – as he's expected to be – then there is no reason he couldn't end the season with 30 goal involvements.
Simeone clearly shares this sentiment, as in November, on the Spanish podcast El Larguero (via GOAL), the Argentine claimed: "Alvaro Morata is on par with Erling Haaland. In terms of goals and his numbers, he can certainly be compared to him."
While that comparison might be a step too far, Morata has enjoyed an impressive few years bouncing between Juventus and Atlético, and while he might not be the best striker in the world, his 19 goals would see him top Chelsea's squad if he was still in England
Appearances
33
28
Goals
19
12
Goals per game
0.57
0.42
The top scorer in Pochettino's squad at the moment is arguably one of the few Chelsea players who will end this season with their stock higher than it was at the start, Palmer.
The former Manchester City prodigy has found the back of the net on 12 occasions across all competitions this season, and while that is undeniably impressive for anyone in their first season at a new club, it's even more remarkable considering he's just 21 years old.
However, that is still a considerably lower goal tally than Morata's and considering the next highest goalscorer in the team is Nicolas Jackson with nine goals, the Blues are clearly crying out for a new clinical number nine this summer.
Chelsea star with 144 touches was even better than Gallagher vs Palace
Another magnificent performance from the 23-year-old.
ByEthan LambFeb 13, 2024
Ultimately, the Blues might have thought they were doing the right thing selling Morata when they did, but he has since proven himself in both La Liga and Serie A, and with Chelsea's current goalscoring woes, Pochettino would probably love to have him at his disposal.
